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Sauron
Sauron (or Þauron; Quenya Tengwar: full spelling 3.E7Y5 or vowel-abbreviated spelling 3.7Y5; IPA: ˈsaʊron or Vanyarin ˈθaʊron) was the Dark Lord Morgoth's abominable lieutenant during the First Age. He was also the creator of the One Ring and the Dark Lord ofMordor, whom the Fellowship of the Ring sought to defeat. His name was formerly Thauron, and came from the elvish word "thaur" meaning "abominable" or "abhorrent". Historyhttp://lotr.wikia.com/index.php?title=Sauron&action=edit&section=1Edit Sauron in the First Agehttp://lotr.wikia.com/index.php?title=Sauron&action=edit&section=2Edit http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/e/e8/1165596377sauron1.jpgSauron during the First AgeAdded by Vezz801 In the earliest of days, before the Valar entered Arda, Sauron was a powerful Maia of Aulë the Smith, a Vala. However, Sauron was soon corrupted by the Dark Lord Morgoth ("The Great Enemy" in the tongue of men) (an evil Vala and Dark Enemy of Arda), and Sauron himself turned to evil. At first he was a spy for Morgoth, telling him the Valar's doings. Ever after, Sauron served Morgoth faithfully, and even in later days, after Morgoth was defeated and locked outside the confines of the world, Sauron encouraged and coerced some men to worship Morgoth as a god. However, while Morgoth wanted to either control or destroy the very matter of Arda itself, Sauron's desire was to dominate the minds and wills of its creatures, as well as establish himself as the ruler of Arda from his tower of Barad-dûr in Mordor. However, he originally dwelt in Angband in the Iron Mountains for a short period of time before Melkor came and claimed it again in the First Age. During the First Age, the Noldorin elves left the Blessed Realm of Valinor in the Utter West (against the counsel of the Valar) in order to wage war on Morgoth, who had stolen the Silmarils of Fëanor, enchanted gems that glowed with light from the now- destroyed Trees of Valinor. In that war, Sauron served as Morgoth's Chief lieutenant, surpassing all others in rank save Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs. Known as Gorthaur the Cruel, Sauron at that time was known for his sorcery and was master of illusions and changes of form, and werewolves were his servants, chief among them Draugluin, Sire of Werewolves, and Thuringwethil, his vampire Herald. When Morgoth left Angband to corrupt the newly awakened Atani (Men), Sauron directed the War against the Elves. He conquered the elvish isle of Tol Sirion, so that it became known as Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves. Ten years later, Finrod Felagund, the king of Nargothrond and former lord of Tol Sirion died protecting Beren in captivity; soon afterward Lúthien and Huan the Wolfhound defeated Sauron in that place and rescued Beren from the dungeons into which Sauron had thrown him. After his defeat by Lúthien, Sauron played little part in the events of the First Age (possibly hiding from Morgoth's wrath), and after his master was defeated and taken to Valinor in chains, Sauron repented (apparently) and pleaded for mercy to Eönwë and the victorious Host of the West. Although his plea was probably genuine, Sauron was unwilling to return to the Utter West for judgment, and so he fled and hid somewhere in Middle-earth. Sauron in the Second Agehttp://lotr.wikia.com/index.php?title=Sauron&action=edit&section=3Edit http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/4/4e/Annatar.jpgAnnatar, Sauron the Fair (unused imagery from the Return of the King (movie) )Added by Gimli After lying hidden and dormant for 500 years, he began revealing himself once again and by SA 1000 he gathered his power and established himself in the land of Mordor in eastern Middle-earth and begun building the dreaded Dark Tower of Barad-dûr near Mount Doom. Sauron, like Morgoth soon began raising massive armies of Orcs, Trolls, and possibly other creatures as well and he corrupted the hearts of Men with delusions of power and wealth, chieflyEasterlings and Southrons. By about SA 1500, Sauron put on a fair visage in the Second Age, and calling himself Annatar, the "Lord of Gifts", he befriended the Elvish smiths of Eregion, and counseled them in arts and magic. Not all the Elves trusted him, particularly Lady Galadriel and Gil-galad, High King of the Ñoldor, but few listened to them. Then the Elves forged Rings of Power, but in secret Sauron forged the One Ring to rule the Elvish rings, upon this ring he scripted the words: :One Ring to Rule Them All, One Ring to Find Them, One Ring to Bring Them All, and in the Darkness Bind Them, :However, the direct translation of the letters on the One Ring is A''sh nazg durbutaluk, Ash nazg gimbatul, Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.'' As he forged the One Ring, he invested into it most of his power, simultaneously making him both more powerful and more vulnerable. When Sauron put on the One Ring and tried to dominate the Elves, they resisted, and Sauron came upon them in the War of the Elves and Sauronand, had it not been for the intervention of Númenor, he might have defeated them. http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/a/af/Eye-of-sauron.jpgThe Eye of Sauron on the tower of Barad-dûr, as shown in Peter Jackson's The Lord of The Rings film trilogy.Added by Norn Guy In this time, Sauron became known as the Dark Lord of Mordor and hisfortress of Barad-dûr was completed. He was very powerful and nearly conquered all of Middle-earth during the War of the Elves and Sauron but the elves, dwarves, and then Númenóreans finally were able to defeat him at a lastbattle near the Gwathló or Greyflood in SA 1700. Defeated but not vanquished, Sauron retreated back to Mordor and began recouping his strength over the many centuries. Towards the end of the Second Age, Sauron was once again powerful enough to raise again large armies to attempt to rule Middle-earth. By this time, he assumed the titles of "Lord of the Earth" and "King of Men". Sauron's rise in power and apparent intention to crown himself the King of all Men offended the Númenóreans; the powerful Men descended from those who had fought against Melkor in the War of Wrath some were the descendants, through Elros, of Beren and Lúthien. These Men lived on the island of Númenor in the sea between Middle-earth and Valinor. The Númenóreans, who were then proud, came to Middle-earth with astounding force of arms. Sauron's forces fled, and King Ar-Pharazôntook Sauron as hostage to Númenor. There, he quickly grew from captive to advisor; he converted many Númenóreans to the worship of Morgoth, and raised a great temple in which he performed human sacrifices. Finally, he convinced Ar-Pharazôn to rebel against the Valar and attack Valinor itself. Eru (Illuvatar) then directly intervened -- Númenor was drowned under the sea, and the great navy of Númenor was destroyed. The world was bent, so that thereafter only Elven-Ships could sail into the Utter West. Sauron was diminished in the flood of Númenor, and fled back to Mordor, where he slowly rebuilt his strength during the time known as the Dark Years. http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/3/3a/Sauron.jpgSauron wields the awesome power of The One Ring.Added byRockofagespwns23http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/5/5f/Sauronexplodes.jpgSauron's destruction at the hands of Isildur.Added by GimliFrom this point on, he was unable to assume a fair shape, and ruled now through terror and force. A few faithful Númenóreans were saved from the flood, and they founded Gondor and Arnor in Middle-earth. These faithful Men, led byElendil and his sons, allied with the Elven-king, Gil-galad, and together fought Sauron and, after long war,they finally defeated his armies at the Battle of Dagorlad. Although both Elendil and Gil-galad were slain. Isildur, son of Elendil, cut the One Ring from Sauron's finger and claimed it, leading to Sauron's destruction. But later the Ring betrayed him, so that Isildur was slain by orcs at Gladden Fields, and the Ring was lost for centuries.http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/7/76/381126-last_alliance_battle_super.jpgThe Last Alliance fight's Sauron's armies near Barad-dûr.Added by Fabio Van Nieuwenhoven Sauron in the Third Agehttp://lotr.wikia.com/index.php?title=Sauron&action=edit&section=4Edit In the Third Age Sauron arose again, at first in a stronghold called Dol Guldur, the Hill of Sorcery, in southern Mirkwood. There he was disguised as a dark sorcerer called the Necromancer, and the Elves did not realize at first that he was actually Sauron returned.Gandalf the Grey stole into Dol Guldur and discovered the truth; eventually the White Council put forth their might and drove Sauron out. The Dark Lord, having ample time to prepare, simply returned to Mordor and rebuilt Barad-dûr. Here he prepared for the final war against the free people of Middle-Earth http://images.wikia.com/lotr/images/6/6a/Mordor.pngThe tower of Barad-dûr, on top of which is the Eye of Sauron.Added by Kafuffle Sauron bred immense armies of orcs and allied with and enslaved Men from the east and south. He gathered his most terrifying servants, the Nazgûl, orRingwraiths, each wearing one of the nine rings designed for mortal men. Sauron adopted the symbol of a lidless eye, and he was able at that time to send out his will over Middle-earth, so that the Eye of Sauron was a symbol of power and fear. While Sauron did have a physical form, he remained much weakened without the one ring and remainded hidden in the shadows, directing his armies from afar. When sending the Ringwraiths to search for the ring in the Shire, Sauron ordered his puppet Saruman, whom he had ensnared into his service, to create an army to wipe out Rohan, which would remove one of the major threats Sauron faced in his conquest. However, Saruman failed, and Sauron lost his most potent ally. Shortly after Saruman's defeat, Peregrin Took looked into the palantir that Saruman posessed, and accidentally communicated with Sauron, who believed that Saruman had captured the halfling bearing the ring. But when Aragorn took the palantir and revealed himself, Sauron realized that Saruman had failed, and that the heir of Isildur carried the ring, and could possibly use it against him. Fearful of Aragorn, Sauron immediatly attacked the city of Minas Tirith, seeking to crush it, and with it, the last true resistance to his rule. But due to the combined efforts of Gondor, Rohan, and the army of the dead, Sauron's army was defeated. However, he still had many armies in reserve, and enough military strength to conquer Middle Earth, but still thought that Aragorn had the ring, and was seeking to master it. In order to buy time for Frodo to reach Mt. Doom, and to distract Sauron from the peril in his own land, Gandalf and Aragorn led a small army to the Black Gates, making Sauron believe that Aragorn did indeed intend to challenge him directly. Reacting swifly, Sauron sent all his armies to the Black Gate, to utterly crush the men of the west, and regain his prize. But Gandalf and Aragorn's ploy worked: Frodo was able to reach Mt. Doom, and upon putting on the ring, Sauron suddenly became aware of him. Though enraged, he was suddenly gripped with terror, realizing his own folly, and frantically sent the Ringwraiths towards the mountain to retrieve the ring. He was too late however, and Gollum, after taking the ring from Frodo, fell into the cracks of doom. With his source of power destroyed, Sauron was utterly defeated. His tower fell, his armies were destroyed or scattered, and Mordor itself was shaken to it's core. His physical form destroyed, his spirit towered above Mordor like a malevolent black cloud, only to be blown away by a powerful wind from the west, and Sauron was now permanently crippled, never to rise again. Apparently, his consciousness survived, but only as a spirit of malice in the wilderness. Sauron after the Third Agehttp://lotr.wikia.com/index.php?title=Sauron&action=edit&section=5Edit To answer this question, one must fully understand the nature of Sauron and the One Ring. When the Ring was cut from his hand, he lost his bodily form and remained so for a few thousand years. This is because Sauron diverted all of his power, hatred, cruelty and malice into the Ring. However, as Isildur failed to destroy the Ring, Sauron's power steadily grew. Being a Maia, though severely weakened in comparison to his former self, Sauron was able to create another body for himself. Gollum states in Lord of the Rings that Sauron "has only four (fingers) on the Black Hand", but it is unclear why Sauron was unable to restore the fifth. It is possible Gollum was simply in error, or speaking in symbols. Therefore, after the ring was destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, Sauron was completely broken. Destruction of the Ring cost him his body, his strength and all of his old powerful self. Being a Maia, Sauron was not killed and continues to "live"; but with the destruction of the Ring, Sauron can only exist in spirit form and can never rebuild his strength. Take Barad-dûr as an example of Sauron and the Ring. The Men of Gondor had Barad-dûr taken to pieces at the end of the Second Age, but as the Ring continued to exist, the foundations of Barad-dûr could not truly ever be destroyed. When the Ring was destroyed, Barad-dûr completely collapsed into ruin and Sauron was permanently defeated. While evil will continue to exist, Sauron will never emerge as a Dark Lord again. There is also an argument against this. The argument is that Sauron could not continue to live, as he was sucked into the Void from which there can be no return. Though, technically, he would be 'alive' in the Void. In addition, the film depicts Sauron (who does in this series seem to be the Eye) being destroyed along with the One Ring. Though that could have been the destruction of his physical form as well. However, Sauron will arise during the Dagor Dagorath (Final Battle) when Morgoth returns to Arda at the end of times, as he is with Morgoth in the Void. Apperancehttp://lotr.wikia.com/index.php?title=Sauron&action=edit&section=6Edit Despite being the title character of the Lord of the Rings, Sauron is notable in that he never appears "on screen," so to speak. Nowhere is any detailed description given of what he looks like, other then in vague terms. In the Silmarillion, Sauron is described as being a shape changer, and took many forms, including that of a serpent, a vampire, and a great wolf. After Morgoth's fall, Sauron appeared in fair form as Annatar, the lord of gifts, and maintained this form until the fall of Numenor, in which he was unable to ever take fair form ever again. A few clues are given as to Sauron's apperance as the dark lord: Tolkien described Sauron in one of his letters as having the form of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic; he is also described as an image of malice and hatred made visible. He apparently gave off great heat, so much so that Gil-Galad was burned to death by his mere touch, and Isildur described Sauron's hand as black, yet burning like fire, suggesting that his entire body was blackened from fire and heat. Gollum, having apparently seen Sauron directly, described him as having only four fingers on his black hand, suggesting that Sauron was unable to regenerate the finger from which Isildur took the ring, similar to how the wounds Morgoth took from Fingolin never healed. In addition to his physical apperance, Sauron also apparently had an aura of incredible malevolence. A passage in the Silmarillion describes him as having a "dreadful presence," and daunting eyes. Furthermore, his mere presence can drive all but the strongest wills to madness. It is very likely that Tolkien never gave a concrete description of what Sauron looked like in order to deliberatly keep him mysterious, and to imply his incredible evil, rather then showing it, or him, directly. Weapons and Powershttp://lotr.wikia.com/index.php?title=Sauron&action=edit&section=7Edit Sauron was among the mightiest of the Maiar. Originally of Aulë's people, he acquired great "scientific" knowledge of the world: Of its substances and how to use them. He would retain this knowledge throughout his tenure as the Dark Lord in Middle-earth, using it to forge the One Ring and construct his fortress of Barad-dur. Sauron seems primarily linked to the element of fire. The source of his power in the Third Age (and also a kind of familiar to him) was Mount Doom, a restless, violent volcano, which left Mordor a charred, blackened land. A flaming, lidless eye is often used as a representation of his will, and that eye is used as a symbol on all his armies' banners. As one of Morgoth's chief captains, his ability to tap into the fires in the earth would have been priceless. It seems reasonable to suggest that the forges of Angband had Sauron to thank, at least in part, for their effectiveness. Among Sauron's chief powers were deception and disguise: In the First Age Sauron took on many forms. His battle against Luthien and Huan in The Silmarillion has him taking on no less than four separate shapes: his "normal" shape, presumed to be that of some kind of dark sorcerer, a great wolf, a serpent, and finally a vampire "dripping blood from his throat upon the trees" ("Of Beren and Lúthien," The Silmarillion). At the end of the First Age Sauron took on a fair form to appeal to the Captain of the Hosts of the Valar and ask for pardon. In the Second Age, Sauron took up that fair form again and used it under the alias "Annatar" to deceive the Elves into creating the Rings of Power. The level of deception required to fool the Elves of Eregion must have gone beyond simply taking on a fair form. Sauron was literally instructing the Elves to make artifacts that while capable of great good, were ultimately purposed for his own domination and were imbued with power to arrest the natural order of the world. The Elves were unaware of who they were dealing with until the eleventh hour, and only narrowly escaped his trap. Centuries later, Sauron was able to deceive the Númenóreans and steer them directly to their own destruction under promises of eternal life. Such destruction is a testament to Sauron's manipulative nature and ability to twist the perceptions of his enemies. An interesting dichotomy is set up between his deceptive nature and his symbol: While rarely appearing personally and deceiving all but the most wary, he represents himself as an all seeing eye that can pierce all disguises. Consistent with Tolkien's theme of evil being finite, wasteful, and self-destructive, Sauron's powers are gradually reduced as time goes on. After the Fall of Númenor, he is incapable of taking physical form for many years, and only then as a horrific Dark Lord, robbed of his fair form forever. After losing the ring it takes even longer for him to regain physical form, although by the War of the Ring he has regained it. In the movies, Sauron's weapon is a black mace used against the Last Alliance to kill both Gil-galad and Elendil. The mace is extremely powerful (or Sauron uses magic to strengthen his might), as it can blast back and kill entire battalions in one hit. Against powerful foes like Aragorn in Battle for Middle-earth II, Sauron only needs a few hits (2 or 3) to defeat them. The extent, nature, and specifics of Sauron's power are largely left to the imagination. Like his master Morgoth, he is capable of altering the physical substance of the world around him by mere effort of will (albeit to a far lesser extent). He is also able to extend the natural life span of beings to almost infinite ends, the most prominent example being the Nazgûl, who were over three thousand years old by the time of the War of the Ring. This gives some legitimacy to his title "The Necromancer" used in "The Hobbit," although Tolkien retroactively applied to Sauron, and probably meant it more in the context of "Dark Sorcerer."